Arkansas Vacation

Over Labor Day break, Josh, Eli and I headed to Arkansas with Josh's family to celebrate Mamaw and Papaw's birthdays. In lieu of buying them things they really didn't need, we decided to take a vacation together as a whole family and spend a few days bonding, relaxing, playing games, eating good food, and having lots of fun! We arrived late Friday night, so I wasn't able to take many pictures then, but the next morning I began :)

Our lodging area was really nice. We rented out the entire site since we had so many people with us. It was nice to be able to spread out and not be cramped together.

The view from the back of our cabin
Strangely enough I didn't get a picture of the cabin from the front

House where Brian, Jeff, Shane and Sara stayed

Sleeping quarters for Ariane and Peyton

The main house had lots of people in it...Lisa and Reggie, Jordan and Addi, Mamaw and Papaw, Sue, David and Lisa, and Allison.

We knew before we even got there that this weekend was going to be one completely geared towards Eli. We knew that he'd want to be outside pretty much all day and that's what we planned on. Saturday morning he woke up bright and early as always and after eating a quick breakfast of yogurt we went "ow-side." The weather was simply perfect-zero humidity, zero mosquitoes, perfect for sitting around and relaxing. We were so very thankful!

Eli and Peyton were best buds over the weekend. They hung out from the moment they got up until they went to bed at night, with the only exception being nap time. Eli just adores "Pate" and loves to be around him and Peyton is so sweet with Eli. I'm so glad they had each other this weekend!

Sitting around like two old men talking about the weather...ha ha.

Eli's first powdered donut. He liked it a lot!

Two peas in a pod!

This is what our whole weekend was about-the entire family being together and spending time with each other. It was so nice to have everyone here!

Peyton and Eli couldn't sit still long, so they were always on the hunt for something fun to do. They had lots of fun chasing this motorcyle around and around this tree. Eli thought it was hilarious when the motorcycle would accidentally hit his foot...it's the little things in life!

Pretty soon, they tired of chasing the motorcycle and decided to go on a nature walk with Sara to the fish pond to see the fish and frogs.




Around lunch time everyone changed into their swimsuits and headed to the lake for some swimming. The water wasn't cold, but the beach part of the lake was really rocky. I was so worried that Eli was going to fall and hit something, but thankfully he didn't. The lake and the surrounding scenery were beautiful!

My two little fish :)

The people who weren't brave enough to get in the water...WIMPS!

Addi made her lake debut in her pink swimsuit, pink hat, and pink sunglasses. Isn't she just the cutest thing you've ever seen??? I love this little girl so much! She is the most content and laid back baby I've ever seen. I am so thankful that God brought this little girl into our family. She's been such a blessing! We all fight over who is going to hold her and I got lucky on this particular day :) She LOVED the water! She's going to be right there with Eli and Peyton before we know it.

Josh couldn't stand the fact that I got to hold her more than he did, so he took her out into the water with the big kids. She loved it there even more. I guess he gets the cool points because he went into deeper water than I did. Can you tell Josh likes her just a little bit?



While Josh had Addi, Eli and I decided to make a rock pile on the beach. There were SO many rocks, so we had to do something with them. Eli used great precision in getting his rock pile to look just right.


We left the beach and headed back to the cabin for some much needed rest. Since I was on vacation, I made sure to take a nap with Eli every day. It was so nice to be able to sleep and cuddle with my little buddy. We woke up refreshed and ready to go. Every time Eli woke up from a nap, he'd say, "Get up, Mama. Go ow-side!" He and the great outdoors were a great combination.

Josh and Shane cooked burgers for us that night for the LSU game and everyone put on their LSU attire to cheer on their favorite team. While they were cooking the burgers, Eli, Peyton, and Buzz, who went everywhere with those two boys, practiced blowing bubbles.

Josh and Lisa Brown

I don't know who won the game, but I do know that this little girl was a cute little tiger :)

Addi and Jordan

She just melts my heart!

After the burgers, we sang Happy Birthday to Mamaw, Papaw, Sara and Allison. They all had birthdays before we came and we wanted to celebrate those!

The birthday gang

Sunday morning Josh, Shane, David and Brian went to play golf, so Lisa, Allison, Jeff, and I decided to go have some fun, too. Jeff and Brian brought four kayaks with them to Arkansas so they could kayak on the lake every day. The day before Jeff, Brian, Ariane and Jordan had kayaked around the lake. I'd always wanted to kayak and now I had my chance! Jeff was a great teacher and was very patient with us. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be and I'm glad I got to do it. Thanks, Jeff!!

Lisa and Allison getting ready to kayak

There we are! I'm in the one at the top of the picture all the way to the right.

We came back and after another glorious nap, Eli and I woke up to the family playing tailgate golf. It was probably the most played game during our family weekend and it got pretty competitive, too!

That night our group split up to do several different activities; some went to play miniature golf, some went kayaking, some stayed at the cabins, and some went to the beach again. We decided to do the beach again, but after we got there we kind of regretted that decision. The water was SOOO much colder than it was the day before and Eli and I didn't enjoy being in the water at all. Eli and Peyton decided that playing in the sand was much more fun than freezing in the cold lake water.

Look at the difference in their skin! Eli is so white and Peyton is so tan!

We got back to the cabin and it was family picture time :) I was the self-designated photog in the group, so I made it a point to take a picture of each family that was there (except for my own...how did that happen???)

Allison, David, and Lisa

Shane and Sara

Shane, Sara, and Brian

Lisa and Reggie

Peyton and Ariane

Mamaw and Allison

Mamaw and Lisa

We all woke up the next morning and loaded up our cars to go home. The weekend was a success! We had so much fun and I'm so glad we were able to do this! I am already looking forward to when we can do it again!

Peyton and Eli showing they're all ready to go home!